City of Richland

Chemist Chelsie Beck is running for Richland School Board, Director District 3. The seat is currently held by Lindsay Lightner, who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in August of this year. For more than a decade, Beck has worked for a local lab managed by the Department of Energy. Her mother was a Washington state public school teacher and now she is a parent to two children in the school district. Additionally, Beck is an active community volunteer, working as a coach with the YMCA, an elementary school classroom volunteer, and the treasurer for the local Cub Scout Pack.

Beck wants to bring open-minded and responsive leadership to the school district. Her central goal is to refocus the school board on delivering high-quality education. Beck also wants to work to close the achievement gap so that all Richland students have the support and opportunities to achieve success. Beck has earned strong endorsements from educators and community leaders in this race.

Beck is facing Nino Kapitula, who wants to make the school district a battleground for divisive politics and misinformation. Kapitula, a former insurance agent, is Republican-endorsed and boasts a conservative campaign platform. If elected, she would likely distract the district from addressing the most important issues facing students and families by focusing instead on a conservative political agenda. 

We recommend Chelsie Beck for Richland School Board, Director District 3.
 

Katrina Waters is challenging conservative incumbent Kari Williams for Richland School Board, Director District 4. Waters is a fellow at a local lab managed by the Department of Energy, where she has worked for nearly two decades. She is actively involved with her local Boy Scouts chapter and was a working parent to three students who graduated from the school district.

Waters is running with a strong focus on positive collaboration and bridging divisiveness on the school board so that our school district leaders can be more accountable for their decisions and can more efficiently serve the community. If elected, she wants to support special education programs, invest in the physical and mental wellbeing of both students and staff, and close achievement gaps by making sure every student has the resources they need to thrive.

Incumbent Kari Williams is running for re-election on a platform that sometimes aligns with the more far-right members of the board. During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, she advocated to open our schools early, before it was safe to do so. She and fellow school board members Semi Bird and Audra Byrd all voted yes to remove masks from school. This led to a recall vote by Richland voters and three upheld counts from the Washington Supreme Court for not upholding their duty to state law, including violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. Byrd was even caught texting Williams that they had lost control of the "progressive agenda" in terms of literacy, health lessons, and more. Unsurprisingly, Williams also opposes comprehensive and accurate sex education for all students.

Katrina Waters is the clear candidate in this race for Richland School Board, Director District 4. 

Incumbent Jill Oldson is running for re-election to the Richland School Board in Director District 5. Oldson currently serves as the board’s vice president and has served as a director since June 2018. She has spent nearly a decade working to support our school district including roles with the Washington School Directors Association, and she serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Franklin County.

In office, Oldson has been steadfast in her principles and led with a sincere desire to improve the school district. Last year, conservatives tried to oust her because of Oldson’s support for common-sense COVID safety measures like masks and virtual meetings. If re-elected, some of Oldson’s top priorities include supporting student mental health, investing in special education programs, and academic success for all students.

Gene Nemeth, a nuclear facility operations contractor, is challenging Oldson on an extremist platform endorsed by the local Republicans. He is associated with the far-right Moms for Liberty group who wants to install divisive and inaccurate conservative ideas in our schools. Our students deserve curriculums that represent science and history, not fringe political agendas, in order to be best prepared for the future.

Though she is not a progressive, Jill Oldson is the clear choice in this race for Richland School Board, Director District 5.